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CHAPTER IV.

On alighting at an inn, upon the market-place, he found matters going on very

joyously, — at least very stirringly. A large company of rope-dancers, leapers,

and  jugglers,  having  a  strong  man  along  with  them,  had  just  arrived  with  their

wives  and  children,  and,  while  preparing  for  a  grand  exhibition,  kept  up  a

perpetual racket. They first quarrelled with the landlord, then with one another;

and, if their contention was intolerable, the expressions of their satisfaction were

infinitely more so. Undetermined whether he should go or stay, he was standing

in the door looking at some workmen, who had just begun to erect a stage in the

middle of the square.

A girl with roses and other flowers for sale, coming by, held out her basket to

him, and he purchased a beautiful nosegay; which, like one that had a taste for

these  things,  he  tied  up  in  a  different  fashion,  and  was  looking  at  it  with  a

satisfied air, when the window of another inn on the opposite side of the square

flew  open,  and  a  handsome  woman  looked  out  from  it.  Notwithstanding  the

distance, he observed that her face was animated by a pleasant cheerfulness; her

fair hair fell carelessly streaming about her neck; she seemed to be looking at the

stranger.  In  a  short  time  afterwards,  a  boy  with  a  white  jacket,  and  a  barber’s

apron  on,  came  out  from  the  door  of  her  house  towards  Wilhelm,  saluted  him,

and said, “The lady at the window bids me ask if you will not favor her with a

share  of  your  beautiful  flowers.”    —    “They  are  all  at  her  service,”  answered

Wilhelm, giving the nosegay to this nimble messenger, and making a bow to the

fair  one,  who  returned  it  with  a  friendly  courtesy,  and  then  withdrew  from  the

window.

Amused  with  this  small  adventure,  he  was  going  up-stairs  to  his  chamber,

when  a  young  creature  sprang  against  him,  and  attracted  his  attention.  A  short

silk  waistcoat  with  slashed  Spanish  sleeves,  tight  trousers  with  puffs,  looked

very pretty on the child. Its long black hair was curled, and wound in locks and

plaits about the head. He looked at the figure with astonishment, and could not

determine  whether  to  take  it  for  a  boy  or  a  girl.  However,  he  decided  for  the

latter:  and,  as  the  child  ran  by,  he  took  her  up  in  his  arms,  bade  her  good-day,

and asked her to whom she belonged; though he easily perceived that she must

be  a  member  of  the  vaulting  and  dancing  company  lately  arrived.  She  viewed

him with a dark, sharp side-look, as she pushed herself out of his arms, and ran

into the kitchen without making any answer.

On coming up-stairs, he found in the large parlor two men practising the small

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sword, or seeming rather to make trial which was the better fencer. One of them

plainly enough belonged to the vaulting company: the other had a somewhat less

savage aspect. Wilhelm looked at them, and had reason to admire them both; and

as  the  black-bearded,  sturdy  contender  soon  afterwards  forsook  the  place  of

action, the other with extreme complaisance offered Wilhelm the rapier.

“If you want to take a scholar under your inspection,” said our friend, “I am

well content to risk a few passes with you.”

Accordingly  they  fought  together;  and,  although  the  stranger  greatly

overmatched his new competitor, he politely kept declaring that it all depended

upon practice; in fact, Wilhelm, inferior as he was, had made it evident that he

had  got  his  first  instructions  from  a  good,  solid,  thorough-paced  German

fencing-master.

Their entertainment was disturbed by the uproar with which the party-colored

brotherhood issued from the inn, to make proclamation of the show, and awaken

a desire to see their art, throughout the town. Preceded by a drum, the manager

advanced  on  horseback:  he  was  followed  by  a  female  dancer  mounted  on  a

corresponding  hack,  and  holding  a  child  before  her,  all  bedizened  with  ribbons

and  spangles.  Next  came  the  remainder  of  the  troop  on  foot,  some  of  them

carrying  children  on  their  shoulders  in  dangerous  postures,  yet  smoothly  and

lightly:  among  these  the  young,  dark,  black-haired  figure  again  attracted

Wilhelm’s notice.

Pickleherring  ran  gayly  up  and  down  the  crowded  multitude,  distributing  his

handbills  with  much  practical  fun,    —    here  smacking  the  lips  of  a  girl,  there

breeching a boy, and awakening generally among the people an invincible desire

to know more of him.

On  the  painted  flags,  the  manifold  science  of  the  company  was  visibly

delineated, particularly of the Monsieur Narciss and the Demoiselle Landrinette:

both  of  whom,  being  main  characters,  had  prudently  kept  back  from  the

procession,  thereby  to  acquire  a  more  dignified  consideration,  and  excite  a

greater curiosity.

During  the  procession,  Wilhelm’s  fair  neighbor  had  again  appeared  at  the

window;  and  he  did  not  fail  to  inquire  about  her  of  his  new  companion.  This

person, whom for the present we shall call Laertes, offered to take Wilhelm over

and introduce him. “I and the lady,” said he laughing, “are two fragments of an

acting company that made shipwreck here a short while ago. The pleasantness of

the  place  has  induced  us  to  stay  in  it,  and  consume  our  little  stock  of  cash  in

peace; while one of our friends is out seeking some situation for himself and us.”

Laertes  immediately  accompanied  his  new  acquaintance  to  Philina’s  door;

where he left him for a moment, and ran to a shop hard by for a few sweetmeats.

---

“I  am  sure  you  will  thank  me,”  said  he,  on  returning,  “for  procuring  you  so

pleasant an acquaintance.”

The  lady  came  out  from  her  room,  in  a  pair  of  tight  little  slippers  with  high

heels, to give them welcome. She had thrown a black mantle over her, above a

white  negligée,  not  indeed  superstitiously  clean;  which,  however,  for  that  very

reason,  gave  her  a  more  frank  and  domestic  air.  Her  short  dress  did  not  hide  a

pair of the prettiest feet and ankles in the world.

“You  are  welcome,”  she  cried  to  Wilhelm,  “and  I  thank  you  for  your

charming flowers.” She led him into her chamber with the one hand, pressing the

nosegay  to  her  breast  with  the  other.  Being  all  seated,  and  got  into  a  pleasant

train of general talk, to which she had the art of giving a delightful turn, Laertes

threw a handful of gingerbread-nuts into her lap; and she immediately began to

eat them.

“Look what a child this young gallant is!” she said: “he wants to persuade you

that  I  am  fond  of  such  confectionery,  and  it  is  himself  that  cannot  live  without

licking his lips over something of the kind.”

“Let us confess,” replied Laertes, “that in this point, as in others, you and I go

hand  in  hand.  For  example,”  he  continued,  “the  weather  is  delightful  to-day:

what if we should take a drive into the country, and eat our dinner at the Mill?”

“With all my heart,” said Philina: “we must give our new acquaintance some

diversion.”

Laertes sprang out, for he never walked: and Wilhelm motioned to return for a

minute  to  his  lodgings,  to  have  his  hair  put  in  order;  for  at  present  it  was  all

dishevelled  with  riding.  “You  can  do  it  here,”  she  said,  then  called  her  little

servant,  and  constrained  Wilhelm  in  the  politest  manner  to  lay  off  his  coat,  to

throw her powder-mantle over him, and to have his head dressed in her presence.

“We must lose no time,” said she: “who knows how short a while we may all be

together?”

The boy, out of sulkiness and ill nature more than want of skill, went on but

indifferently with his task: he pulled the hair with his implements, and seemed as

if  he  would  not  soon  be  done.  Philina  more  than  once  reproved  him  for  his

blunders,  and  at  last  sharply  packed  him  off,  and  chased  him  to  the  door.  She

then  undertook  the  business  herself,  and  frizzled  Wilhelm’s  locks  with  great

dexterity and  grace;  though she,  too,  appeared to  be  in no  exceeding  haste, but

found always this and that to improve and put to rights; while at the same time

she  could  not  help  touching  his  knees  with  hers,  and  holding  her  nosegay  and

bosom so near his lips, that he was strongly tempted more than once to imprint a

kiss on it.

When  Wilhelm  had  cleaned  his  brow  with  a  little  powder-knife,  she  said  to

---

him,  “Put  it  in  your  pocket,  and  think  of  me  when  you  see  it.”  It  was  a  pretty

knife: the haft, of inlaid steel, had these friendly words wrought on it, “Think of

me.” Wilhelm put it up, and thanked her, begging permission at the same time to

make her a little present in return.

At last they were in readiness. Laertes had brought round the coach, and they

commenced  a  very  gay  excursion.  To  every  beggar,  Philina  threw  out  money

from the window; giving along with it a merry and friendly word.

Scarcely  had  they  reached  the  Mill,  and  ordered  dinner,  when  a  strain  of

music  struck  up  before  the  house.  It  was  some  miners  singing  various  pretty

songs, and accompanying their clear and shrill voices with a cithern and triangle.

In  a  short  while  the  gathering  crowd  had  formed  a  ring  about  them,  and  our

company  nodded  approbation  to  them  from  the  windows.  Observing  this

attention,  they  expanded  their  circle,  and  seemed  making  preparation  for  their

grandest piece. After some pause, a miner stepped forward with a mattock in his

hand; and, while the others played a serious tune, he set himself to represent the

action of digging.

Ere long a peasant came from among the crowd, and, by pantomimic threats,

let the former know that he must cease and remove. Our company were greatly

surprised at this: they did not discover that the peasant was a miner in disguise,

till he opened his mouth, and, in a sort of recitative, rebuked the other for daring

to  meddle  with  his  field.  The  latter  did  not  lose  his  composure  of  mind,  but

began  to  inform  the  husbandman  about  his  right  to  break  ground  there;  giving

him  withal  some  primary  conceptions  of  mineralogy.  The  peasant,  not  being

master  of  his  foreign  terminology,  asked  all  manner  of  silly  questions;  whereat

the  spectators,  as  themselves  more  knowing,  set  up  many  a  hearty  laugh.  The

miner endeavored to instruct him, and showed him the advantage, which, in the

long-run, would reach even him, if the deeplying treasures of the land were dug

out from their secret beds. The peasant, who at first had threatened his instructor

with blows, was gradually pacified; and they parted good friends at last, though

it was the miner chiefly that got out of this contention with honor.

“In  this  little  dialogue,”  said  Wilhelm,  when  seated  at  the  table,  “we  have  a

lively  proof  how  useful  the  theatre  might  be  to  all  ranks;  what  advantage  even

the  state  might  procure  from  it,  if  the  occupations,  trades,  and  undertakings  of

men  were  brought  upon  the  stage,  and  presented  on  their  praiseworthy  side,  in

that  point  of  view  in  which  the  state  itself  should  honor  and  protect  them.  As

matters stand, we exhibit only the ridiculous side of men: the comic poet is, as it

were, but a spiteful tax-gatherer, who keeps a watchful eye over the errors of his

fellow-subjects,  and  seems  gratified  when  he  can  fix  any  charge  upon  them.

Might it not be a worthy and pleasing task for a statesman to survey the natural

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and  reciprocal  influence  of  all  classes  on  each  other,  and  to  guide  some  poet,

gifted  with  sufficient  humor,  in  such  labors  as  these?  In  this  way,  I  am

persuaded, many very  entertaining, both  agreeable and useful,  pieces, might  be

executed.”

“So far,” said Laertes, “as I, in wandering about the world, have been able to

observe,  statesmen  are  accustomed  merely  to  forbid,  to  hinder,  to  refuse,  but

very rarely to invite, to further, to reward. They let all things go along, till some

mischief happens: then they get into a rage, and lay about them.”

“A  truce  with  state  and  statesmen!”  said  Philina:  “I  cannot  form  a  notion  of

statesmen except in periwigs; and a periwig, wear it who will, always gives my

fingers a spasmodic motion: I could like to pluck it off the venerable gentleman,

to skip up and down the room with it, and laugh at the bald head.”

So, with a few lively songs, which she could sing very beautifully, Philina cut

short their conversation, and urged them to a quick return homewards, that they

might  arrive  in  time  for  seeing  the  performance  of  the  rope-dancers  in  the

evening.  On  the  road  back  she  continued  her  lavish  generosity,  in  a  style  of

gayety  reaching  to  extravagance;  for  at  last,  every  coin  belonging  to  herself  or

her companions being spent, she threw her straw hat from the window to a girl,

and her neckerchief to an old woman, who asked her for alms.

Philina  invited  both  of  her  attendants  to  her  own  apartments,  because,  she

said, the spectacle could be seen more conveniently from her windows than from

theirs.

On  arriving,  they  found  the  stage  set  up,  and  the  background  decked  with

suspended carpets. The swing-boards were already fastened, the slack-rope fixed

to  posts,  the  tight-rope  bound  over  trestles.  The  square  was  moderately  filled

with people, and the windows with spectators of some quality.

Pickleherring,  with  a  few  insipidities,  at  which  the  lookers-on  are  generally

kind  enough  to  laugh,  first  prepared  the  meeting  to  attention  and  good-humor.

Some  children,  whose  bodies  were  made  to  exhibit  the  strangest  contortions,

awakened  astonishment  or  horror;  and  Wilhelm  could  not,  without  the  deepest

sympathy, see the child he had at the first glance felt an interest in, go through

her fantastic positions with considerable difficulty. But the merry tumblers soon

changed the feeling into that of lively satisfaction, when they first singly, then in

rows,  and  at  last  all  together,  vaulted  up  into  the  air,  making  somersets

backwards  and  forwards.  A  loud  clapping  of  hands  and  a  strong  huzza  echoed

from the whole assembly.

The  general  attention  was  next  directed  to  quite  a  different  object.  The

children  in  succession  had  to  mount  the  rope,    —    the  learners  first,  that  by

practising they might prolong the spectacle, and show the difficulties of the art

---

more clearly. Some men and full-grown women likewise exhibited their skill to

moderate  advantage;  but  still  there  was  no  Monsieur  Narciss,  no  Demoiselle

Landrinette.

At  last  this  worthy  pair  came  forth:  they  issued  from  a  kind  of  tent  with  red

spread curtains, and, by their agreeable forms and glittering decorations, fulfilled

the  hitherto  increasing  hopes  of  the  spectators.  He,  a  hearty  knave,  of  middle

stature, with black eyes and a strong head of hair; she, formed with not inferior

symmetry,    —    exhibited  themselves  successively  upon  the  rope,  with  delicate

movements, leaping, and singular postures. Her airy lightness, his audacity; the

exactitude  with  which  they  both  performed  their  feats  of  art,    —    raised  the

universal satisfaction higher at every step and spring. The stateliness with which

they bore themselves, the seeming attentions of the rest to them, gave them the

appearance  of  king  and  queen  of  the  whole  troop;  and  all  held  them  worthy  of

the rank.

The  animation  of  the  people  spread  to  the  spectators  at  the  windows:  the

ladies looked incessantly at Narciss, the gentlemen at Landrinette. The populace

hurrahed, the more cultivated public could not keep from clapping of the hands:

Pickleherring  now  could  scarcely  raise  a  laugh.  A  few,  however,  slunk  away

when some members of the troop began to press through the crowd with their tin

plates to collect money.

“They  have  made  their  purpose  good,  I  imagine,”  said  Wilhelm  to  Philina,

who  was  leaning  over  the  window  beside  him.  “I  admire  the  ingenuity  with

which  they  have  turned  to  advantage  even  the  meanest  parts  of  their

performance: out of the unskilfulness of their children, and exquisiteness of their

chief actors, they have made up a whole which at first excited our attention, and

then gave us very fine entertainment.”

The  people  by  degrees  dispersed;  and  the  square  was  again  become  empty,

while Philina and Laertes were disputing about the forms and the skill of Narciss

and Landrinette, and rallying each other on the subject at great length. Wilhelm

noticed  the  wonderful  child  standing  on  the  street  near  some  other  children  at

play: he showed her to Philina, who, in her lively way, immediately called and

beckoned to the little one, and, this not succeeding, tripped singing down stairs,

and led her up by the hand.

“Here is the enigma,” said she, as she brought her to the door. The child stood

upon  the  threshold,  as  if  she  meant  again  to  run  off;  laid  her  right  hand  on  her

breast,  the  left  on  her  brow,  and  bowed  deeply.  “Fear  nothing,  my  little  dear,”

said  Wilhelm,  rising,  and  going  towards  her.  She  viewed  him  with  a  doubting

look, and came a few steps nearer.

“What  is  thy  name?”  he  asked.  “They  call  me  Mignon.”    —    “How  old  art

---

thou?” — “No one has counted.” — “Who was thy father?” — “The Great

Devil is dead.”

“Well!  this  is  singular  enough,”  said  Philina.  They  asked  her  a  few  more

questions:  she  gave  her  answers  in  a  kind  of  broken  German,  and  with  a

strangely  solemn  manner;  every  time  laying  her  hands  on  her  breast  and  brow,

and bowing deeply.

Wilhelm could not satisfy himself with looking at her. His eyes and his heart

were irresistibly attracted by the mysterious condition of this being. He reckoned

her  about  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age:  her  body  was  well  formed,  only  her

limbs gave promise of a stronger growth, or else announced a stunted one. Her

countenance  was  not  regular,  but  striking;  her  brow  full  of  mystery;  her  nose

extremely  beautiful;  her  mouth,  although  it  seemed  too  closely  shut  for  one  of

her age, and though she often threw it to a side, had yet an air of frankness, and

was very lovely. Her brownish complexion could scarcely be discerned through

the paint. This form stamped itself deeply in Wilhelm’s soul: he kept looking at

her  earnestly,  and  forgot  the  present  scene  in  the  multitude  of  his  reflections.

Philina  waked  him  from  his  half-dream,  by  holding  out  the  remainder  of  her

sweetmeats  to  the  child,  and  giving  her  a  sign  to  go  away.  She  made  her  little

bow as formerly, and darted like lightning through the door.

As  the  time  drew  on  when  our  new  friends  had  to  part  for  the  evening,  they

planned  a  fresh  excursion  for  the  morrow.  They  purposed  now  to  have  their

dinner at a neighboring Jägerhaus. Before taking leave of Laertes, Wilhelm said

many things in Philina’s praise, to which the other made only brief and careless

answers.

Next morning, having once more exercised themselves in fencing for an hour,

they went over to Philina’s lodging, towards which they had seen their expected

coach  passing  by.  But  how  surprised  was  Wilhelm,  when  the  coach  seemed

altogether to have vanished; and how much more so, when Philina was not to be

found  at  home!  She  had  placed  herself  in  the  carriage,  they  were  told,  with  a

couple  of  strangers  who  had  come  that  morning,  and  was  gone  with  them.

Wilhelm  had  been  promising  himself  some  pleasant  entertainment  from  her

company,  and  could  not  hide  his  irritation.  Laertes,  on  the  other  hand,  but

laughed  at  it,  and  cried,  “I  love  her  for  this:  it  looks  so  like  herself!  Let  us,

however, go directly to the Jägerhaus: be Philina where she pleases, we will not

lose our promenade on her account.”

As  Wilhelm,  while  they  walked,  continued  censuring  the  inconsistency  of

such conduct, Laertes said, “I cannot reckon it inconsistent so long as one keeps

faithful to his character. If this Philina plans you any thing, or promises you any

thing, she does it under the tacit condition that it shall be quite convenient for her

---

to  fulfil  her  plan,  to  keep  her  promise.  She  gives  willingly,  but  you  must  ever

hold yourself in readiness to return her gifts.”

“That seems a singular character,” said Wilhelm.

“Any thing but singular: only she is not a hypocrite. I like her on that account.

Yes:  I  am  her  friend,  because  she  represents  the  sex  so  truly,  which  I  have  so

much  cause  to  hate.  To  me  she  is  another  genuine  Eve,  the  great  mother  of

womankind: so are they all, only they will not all confess it.”

With abundance of such talk, in which Laertes very vehemently exhibited his

spleen  against  the  fair  sex,  without,  however,  giving  any  cause  for  it,  they

arrived at the forest; into which Wilhelm entered in no joyful mood, the speeches

of  Laertes  having  again  revived  in  him  the  memory  of  his  relation  to  Mariana.

Not far from a shady well, among some old and noble trees, they found Philina

sitting by herself at a stone table. Seeing them, she struck up a merry song; and,

when Laertes asked for her companions, she cried out, “I have already cozened

them: I have already had my laugh at them, and sent them a-travelling, as they

deserved. By the way hither I had put to proof their liberality; and, finding that

they were a couple of your close-fisted gentry, I immediately determined to have

amends  of  them.  On  arriving  at  the  inn,  they  asked  the  waiter  what  was  to  be

had. He, with his customary glibness of tongue, reckoned over all that could be

found  in  the  house,  and  more  than  could  be  found.  I  noticed  their  perplexity:

they looked at one another, stammered, and inquired about the cost. “What is the

use  of  all  this  studying?”  said  I.  “The  table  is  the  lady’s  business:  allow  me  to

manage  it.”  I  immediately  began  ordering  a  most  unconscionable  dinner,  for

which  many  necessary  articles  would  require  to  be  sent  for  from  the

neighborhood.  The  waiter,  of  whom,  by  a  wry  mouth  or  two,  I  had  made  a

confidant, at last helped me out; and so, by the image of a sumptuous feast, we

tortured  them  to  such  a  degree  that  they  fairly  determined  on  having  a  walk  in

the  forest,  from  which  I  imagine  we  shall  look  with  clear  eyes  if  we  see  them

come  again.  I  have  laughed  a  quarter  of  an  hour  for  my  own  behoof;  I  shall

laugh  forever  when  I  think  of  the  looks  they  had.”  At  table,  Laertes  told  of

similar  adventures:  they  got  into  the  track  of  recounting  ludicrous  stories,

mistakes, and dexterous cheats.

A young man of their acquaintance, from the town, came gliding through the

wood  with  a  book  in  his  hand:  he  sat  down  by  them,  and  began  praising  the

beauty of the place. He directed their attention to the murmuring of the brook, to

the waving of the boughs, to the checkered lights and shadows, and the music of

the birds. Philina commenced a little song of the cuckoo, which did not seem at

all to exhilarate the man of taste: he very soon made his compliments, and went

on.

---

“Oh  that  I  might  never  hear  more  of  nature,  and  scenes  of  nature!”  cried

Philina, so soon as he was gone: “there is nothing in the world more intolerable

than  to  hear  people  reckon  up  the  pleasures  you  enjoy.  When  the  day  is  bright

you go to walk, as to dance when you hear a tune played. But who would think a

moment  on  the  music  or  the  weather?  It  is  the  dancer  that  interests  us,  not  the

violin; and to look upon a pair of bright black eyes is the life of a pair of blue

ones.  But  what  on  earth  have  we  to  do  with  wells  and  brooks,  and  old  rotten

lindens?”  She  was  sitting  opposite  to  Wilhelm;  and,  while  speaking  so,  she

looked  into  his  eyes  with  a  glance  which  he  could  not  hinder  from  piercing  at

least to the very door of his heart.

“You are right,” replied he, not without embarrassment: “man is ever the most

interesting  object  to  man,  and  perhaps  should  be  the  only  one  that  interests.

Whatever  else  surrounds  us  is  but  the  element  in  which  we  live,  or  else  the

instrument which we employ. The more we devote ourselves to such things, the

more  we  attend  to  and  feel  concern  in  them,  the  weaker  will  our  sense  of  our

own  dignity  become,  the  weaker  our  feelings  for  society.  Men  who  put  a  great

value  on  gardens,  buildings,  clothes,  ornaments,  or  any  other  sort  of  property,

grow less social and pleasant: they lose sight of their brethren, whom very few

can succeed in collecting about them and entertaining. Have you not observed it

on  the  stage?  A  good  actor  makes  us  very  soon  forget  the  awkwardness  and

meanness  of  paltry  decorations,  but  a  splendid  theatre  is  the  very  thing  which

first makes us truly feel the want of proper actors.”

After  dinner  Philina  sat  down  among  the  long,  overshaded  grass,  and

commanded  both  her  friends  to  fetch  her  flowers  in  great  quantities.  She

wreathed  a  complete  garland,  and  put  it  round  her  head:  it  made  her  look

extremely charming. The flowers were still sufficient for another: this, too, she

plaited,  while  both  the  young  men  sat  beside  her.  When,  at  last,  amid  infinite

mirth and sportfulness, it was completed, she pressed it on Wilhelm’s head with

the greatest dignity, and shifted the posture of it more than once, till it seemed to

her properly adjusted. “And I, it appears, must go empty,” said Laertes.

“Not by any means: you shall not have reason to complain,” replied Philina,

taking off the garland from her own head, and putting it on his.

“If we were rivals,” said Laertes, “we might now dispute very warmly which

of us stood higher in thy favor.”

“And the more fools you,” said she, while she bent herself towards him, and

offered him her lips to kiss; and then immediately turned round, threw her arm

about Wilhelm, and bestowed a kind salute on him also. “Which of them tastes

best?” said she archly.

“Surprisingly!” exclaimed Laertes: “it seems as if nothing else had ever such a

---

tang of wormwood in it.”

“As little wormwood,” she replied, “as any gift that a man may enjoy without

envy and without conceit. But now,” cried she, “I should like to have an hour’s

dancing; and after that we must look to our vaulters.”

Accordingly,  they  went  into  the  house,  and  there  found  music  in  readiness.

Philina  was  a  beautiful  dancer:  she  animated  both  her  companions.  Nor  was

Wilhelm  without  skill;  but  he  wanted  careful  practice,  a  defect  which  his  two

friends voluntarily took charge of remedying.

In these amusements the time passed on insensibly. It was already late when

they returned. The rope-dancers had commenced their operations. A multitude of

people  had  again  assembled  in  the  square;  and  our  friends,  on  alighting,  were

struck  by  the  appearance  of  a  tumult  in  the  crowd,  occasioned  by  a  throng  of

men  rushing  towards  the  door  of  the  inn,  which  Wilhelm  had  now  turned  his

face to. He sprang forward to see what it was; and, pressing through the people,

he  was  struck  with  horror  to  observe  the  master  of  the  rope-dancing  company

dragging poor Mignon by the hair out of the house, and unmercifully beating her

little body with the handle of a whip.

Wilhelm darted on the man like lightning, and seized him by the collar. “Quit

the child!” he cried, in a furious tone, “or one of us shall never leave this spot!”

and,  so  speaking,  he  grasped  the  fellow  by  the  throat  with  a  force  which  only

rage  could  have  lent  him.  The  showman,  on  the  point  of  choking,  let  go  the

child,  and  endeavored  to  defend  himself  against  his  new  assailant.  But  some

people,  who  had  felt  compassion  for  Mignon,  yet  had  not  dared  to  begin  a

quarrel for her, now laid hold of the rope-dancer, wrenched his whip away, and

threatened  him  with  great  fierceness  and  abuse.  Being  now  reduced  to  the

weapons  of  his  mouth,  he  began  bullying,  and  cursing  horribly.  The  lazy,

worthless  urchin,  he  said,  would  not  do  her  duty;  refused  to  perform  the  egg-

dance, which he had promised to the public; he would beat her to death, and no

one should hinder him. He tried to get loose, and seek the child, who had crept

away  among  the  crowd.  Wilhelm  held  him  back,  and  said  sternly,  “You  shall

neither see nor touch her, till you have explained before a magistrate where you

stole her. I will pursue you to every extremity. You shall not escape me.” These

words, which Wilhelm uttered in heat, without thought or purpose, out of some

vague  feeling,  or,  if  you  will,  out  of  inspiration,  soon  brought  the  raging

showman  to  composure.  “What  have  I  to  do  with  the  useless  brat?”  cried  he.

“Pay me what her clothes cost, and make of her what you please. We shall settle

it  to-night.”  And,  being  liberated,  he  made  haste  to  resume  his  interrupted

operations, and to calm the irritation of the public by some striking displays of

his craft.

---

As  soon  as  all  was  still  again,  Wilhelm  commenced  a  search  for  Mignon,

whom,  however,  he  could  nowhere  find.  Some  said  they  had  seen  her  on  the

street,  others  on  the  roofs  of  the  adjoining  houses;  but,  after  seeking

unsuccessfully in all quarters, he was forced to content himself, and wait to see if

she would not again turn up of herself.

In  the  mean  time,  Narciss  had  come  into  the  house;  and  Wilhelm  set  to

question  him  about  the  birthplace  and  history  of  the  child.  Monsieur  Narciss

knew nothing about these things, for he had not long been in the company; but in

return he recited, with much volubility and levity, various particulars of his own

fortune.  Upon  Wilhelm’s  wishing  him  joy  of  the  great  approbation  he  had

gained,  Narciss  expressed  himself  as  if  exceedingly  indifferent  on  that  point.

“People laugh at us,” he said, “and admire our feats of skill; but their admiration

does nothing for us. The master has to pay us, and may raise the funds where he

pleases.” He then took his leave, and was setting off in great haste.

At  the  question,  whither  he  was  bent  so  fast,  the  dog  gave  a  smile,  and

admitted that his figure and talents had acquired for him a more solid species of

favor  than  the  huzzaing  of  the  multitude.  He  had  been  invited  by  some  young

ladies, who  desired  much  to  become  acquainted  with  him;  and  he  was  afraid it

would be midnight before he could get all his visits over. He proceeded with the

greatest candor to detail his adventures. He would have given the names of his

patronesses, their streets and houses, had not Wilhelm waived such indiscretion,

and politely dismissed him.

Laertes  had  meanwhile  been  entertaining  Landrinette:  he  declared  that  she

was fully worthy to be and to remain a woman.

Our  friend  next  proceeded  to  his  bargain  with  the  showman  for  Mignon.

Thirty crowns was the price set upon her; and for this sum the black-bearded, hot

Italian  entirely  surrendered  all  his  claims:  but  of  her  history  or  parentage  he

would discover nothing, only that she had fallen into his hands at the death of his

brother,  who,  by  reason  of  his  admirable  skill,  had  usually  been  named  the

“Great Devil.”

Next morning was chiefly spent in searching for the child. It was in vain that

they rummaged every hole and corner of the house and neighborhood: the child

had vanished; and Wilhelm was afraid she might have leaped into some pool of

water, or destroyed herself in some other way.

Philina’s  charms  could  not  divert  his  inquietude.  He  passed  a  dreary,

thoughtful  day.  Nor  at  evening  could  the  utmost  efforts  of  the  tumblers  and

dancers, exerting all their powers to gratify the public, divert the current of his

thoughts, or clear away the clouds from his mind.

By  the  concourse  of  people  flocking  from  all  places  round,  the  numbers  had

---

greatly increased on this occasion: the general approbation was like a snowball

rolling itself into a monstrous size. The feat of leaping over swords, and through

the cask with paper ends, made a great sensation.

The  strong  man,  too,  produced  a  universal  feeling  of  mingled  astonishment

and  horror,  when  he  laid  his  head  and  feet  on  a  couple  of  separate  stools,  and

then allowed some sturdy smiths to place a stithy on the unsupported part of his

body, and hammer a horseshoe till it was completely made by means of it.

The  Hercules’  Strength,  as  they  called  it,  was  a  no  less  wonderful  affair.  A

row of men stood up; then another row, upon their shoulders; then women and

young lads, supported in like manner on the second row; so that finally a living

pyramid was formed; the peak being ornamented by a child, placed on its head,

and  dressed  out  in  the  shape  of  a  ball  and  weather-vane.  Such  a  sight,  never

witnessed  in  those  parts  before,  gave  a  worthy  termination  to  the  whole

performance. Narciss and Landrinette were then borne in litters, on the shoulders

of the rest, along the chief streets of the town, amid the triumphant shouts of the

people.  Ribbons,  nosegays,  silks,  were  thrown  upon  them:  all  pressed  to  get  a

sight  of  them.  Each  thought  himself  happy  if  he  could  behold  them,  and  be

honored with a look of theirs.

“What  actor,  what  author,  nay,  what  man  of  any  class,  would  not  regard

himself as on the summit of his wishes, could he, by a noble saying or a worthy

action,  produce  so  universal  an  impression?  What  a  precious  emotion  would  it

give,  if  one  could  disseminate  generous,  exalted,  manly  feelings  with  electric

force  and  speed,  and  rouse  assembled  thousands  into  such  rapture,  as  these

people,  by  their  bodily  alertness,  have  done!  If  one  could  communicate  to

thronging  multitudes  a  fellow-feeling  in  all  that  belongs  to  man,  by  the

portraying of happiness and misery, of wisdom and folly, nay, of absurdity and

silliness; could kindle and thrill their inmost souls, and set their stagnant nature

into  movement,  free,  vehement,  and  pure!”  So  said  our  friend;  and,  as  neither

Laertes  nor  Philina  showed  any  disposition  to  take  part  in  such  a  strain,  he

entertained  himself  with  these  darling  speculations,  walking  up  and  down  the

streets till late at night, and again pursuing, with all the force and vivacity of a

liberated  imagination,  his  old  desire  to  have  all  that  was  good  and  noble  and

great embodied and shown forth by the theatric art.

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